


Rot & Ruin FanFiction

by Alanna_Z



Category: Rot & Ruin Series - Jonathan Maberry
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 20:36:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21142826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alanna_Z/pseuds/Alanna_Z
Summary: A fanfiction that rewrites Tom's fate and explores the situations that come from that series of events.





	Rot & Ruin FanFiction

“Then you may be the cavalry,” Tom was grinning like mad, as he stood in the threshold, “but I’m Santa Clause. Let’s go downstairs and open some presents.”

Kassandra Jacobson, better known as Krazy Kass in the grand world of the Rot and Ruin, lazily looked down the hall at Tom Imura, leaning against the wall with her arms folding over her chest, the sole of her hiking boot pressed firmly against the aged wallpaper. Her blond hair draped over her shoulders, held at bay with a few rows of braids on the sides of her head, a large one sitting on the crown of her head, others hanging amongst the strays of her pin straight hair. Her blue-grey eyes gazed at Tom’s figure, admiring the lithe muscle hidden under his carpet coat.

His black eyes had that murderous glint to it, a glint that meant he had a plan.

The other bounty hunters began to file out, marching down the main stairs down to the lobby to open whatever “presents” Tom had down there. A group of children went with them, all of them looking wide-eyed and scared.

Tom, however, hung back, standing next to a skinny, black haired kid that looked like he had been through hell and back. The kid was pale, dark circles under his eyes. His fingers were clawed and rough, the bed of his nails caked with after clawing at the dirt walls. His skin was smeared with filth, his shirt and shoes missing, taken, and his jeans were torn and grungy. His shoulder had a deep wound, the skin jagged and oozing blood down his body. His eyes had a wild glaze, that spoke volumes, one that Kass knew well.

She could only come to one conclusion: he had been down in the pits.

She immediately felt her heart sink and empathetic sorrow filled her chest. No kid should have to face that.

Kass pushed off the wall, her arms unfurling, sighing as she looked away. She hated that look, the look that came after experiencing the terror of being so close to the dead, of being so close to death itself, a look that came after the horror of being forced to kill with your bare hands for the amusement of others.

“Tom,” her voice travelled softly in the muted air of the hotel, wafting through the musty smell of mildew.

The Japanese man turned, his dark eyes seeing her at the end of the hall, and his body suddenly, and instantly, relaxed, his shoulders rolling back. His face stayed smooth, unreadable, but his eyes softened a touch.

“Chong, go on ahead,” he said to the traumatized teen, gently pushing him forward with a hand on his back. “I’ll be right down.”

The black haired boy nodded and followed behind the troop of bounty hunters.

Once they were alone, a smile turned up the corners of his mouth. “Kassandra,” he sighed out, stepping over the wooden boards to her. His eyes stared; her lissom form dressed in a brown leather duster, pre-First Night hiking boots and straight cut jeans. She had her bow on her slung on her back with a quiver of arrows, and a short sword at her hip, ready to fight the coming war.

He took her into his arms, his arms encircling her, pulling her to his chest. He held her close, his heart swelling with joy and adoration.

She lifted her arms to return his embrace, holding him loosely as the smell of cadaverine fill her nostrils. But she ignored it, feeling the ease washing over her body. It seemed like ages had passed since she had held him close to her like this. He had been absent the last six months, preparing for this “roadtrip” East, and spending time with his brother and his little group, and Kass wanted nothing more than to just hold him, soaking up his presence and basking in his wonder.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he told her, holding her tight to his chest, calling her attention to him.

The blonde pushed him back, hand to his chest, her brow quirked and her mouth set in an un-amused pout. “You know that I’ve been waiting for years to get the chance to burn this Hell to the ground. I wouldn’t _dare_ miss it.”

The samurai sighed, his hands rubbing her arms instinctively. He was anxious, his mind whipped up into an agitated state. “I know, but I worry about what this could do to you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kass dismissed, unimpressed with Tom’s greeting and his concern. “That’s something I can worry about later.”

“You can’t do that to yourself,” Tom insisted, his tone reflecting his inner anxiety. His brows pulled together as he looked down at her, biting the inside of his cheek. Kass had been coerced into monstrous acts by the Matthais clan, tortured and degraded. He worried that she might snap if he let her in on the battle, fall down the rabbit hole of insanity, and split her mind apart for good.

He frowned, squeezing her arms in his strong fingers. “The last time, you let the poison get too deep. You’re lucky I found you before you slipped away.”

“Just because I tried to end my life once,” Kass jeered, pulling herself from his grip. “Doesn’t mean I’ll want do it again.”

Tom swept his fingers through his inky hair, pursing his lips when he saw the shadows stirred in her eyes. “Yeah, I know, but…” He struggled to find the words as he held his head between his hands. He couldn’t loose another; it would drive him mad. “Kass, you know how much I care about you, and after Jessie, I don’t think I could survive loosing you.”

He slender fingers touched his cheek, her eyes now soft, and blue. “Tom, I need to do this,” she murmured, her voice raw, exposing the deep emotional need she felt to end this chapter of her life. “I need to see this end. It’ll give me the closure I need.”

He nodded, understanding. He couldn’t stop her. She was here, and she was going to participate in this upheaval with or with out his consent. He pulled her back to his frame and rested his head against her wheat-field hair. “Just don’t go crazy on me.”

Kass smirked; her eyes wicked. “Don’t you know, Tom? I’m already crazy. It’s on my Zombie Card.”

Tom chuckled. “How could I forget?”


End file.
